England’s Euro 2024 semi-final gave venues and long alcohol drink (LAD) suppliers a huge boost to drinks sales last week — but trading across the week was flat as fans saved their money for the final.
CGA by NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker shows sales on Wednesday, 10th July, rocketed 75% above the equivalent day in 2023 as consumers flocked to pubs and bars to watch the game with friends and family.
However, sales were down year on year on all six of the other days of the week — including by 6% and 15% on Friday and Saturday (12th and 13th July) after many consumers chose to wait for Sunday’s final before going out again.
Total drinks sales across the week to 13th July were 0.6% behind the same period in 2023 — the on-trade’s first negative number since mid-June. Trading also suffered by comparison to the warm weather of July 2023, when beer gardens and terraces were much fuller.
As has been the case throughout Euro 2024, LAD categories performed best last week, with beer and cider sales up by 6% and 4% respectively. The three other main categories — wine (down 7%), soft drinks (down 7%), and spirits (down 10%) — all struggled by comparison with last year.
“England’s progress all the way to the Euro 2024 final has provided some bumper days for pubs, bars, and beer and cider brands,” said Jonathan Jones, CGA by NIQ’s managing director, UK and Ireland.
“However, a flat week overall shows drinks sales around sporting events are not necessarily incremental, and that trading is often taken away from other days. It’s a reminder that many consumers are still keeping a very careful eye on their spending, even during big national occasions.
“With the tournament over, venues’ and suppliers’ hopes for year-on-year growth will now be pinned on long-overdue warm weather.”
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Electric Bear has teamed up with Disruption is Brewing again for a new version of their raspberry ripple pastry sour, Another Ripple in Time (6.5% ABV). The beer features 400g of raspeberry puree and vanilla extract.
